serial killer on the A.T.???

im sure youve already heard about the newest missing hiker..

http://www.ajc.com/gwinnett/content...missing0103.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

well it seems this man,



Gary Michael Hilton, 61, is now not only a "person of interest" in this missing persons case, but now the police want to talk to him about a double murder that occurred in october where the couple was last seen on the A.T. ..

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/me.../03/missinghiker_0104_web.html?cxntlid=inform

will be interesting to see how this one plays out..lets hope no one else comes up missing before they find mr. hilton,or whoever is responsible...

 

It's a cycle.

In 1996 Darrel David Rice killed Julianne Marie Williams and Laura Winans in Shenandoah National Park.

In 1990 Paul David Crews killed Geoffery Hood and raped and killed Hood's fiance Molly LaRue in a central Pennsylvania AT shelter.

In May 1988 Stephen Roy Carr frightened Rebecca Wight and another woman off the trail and shot Wight to death.

In May 1981 Randall Lee Smith killed Susan Ramsay and Robert Mountford in an AT shelter near Pearisburg, VA.

And there are others.

It amazes me that in a community as free and open as the AT hiking community is, that this keeps happening.

 

I don't know why you find this so amazing. The AT is in relatively remote and is accessible to anyone. The difficulty in trying to keep this kind of thing from happening is near impossible. All that can be done is warn people after the fact and advise caution.

 

You're right. You can't stop someone from going nuts and killing people. I just wish it wouldn't repeatedly happen there.

 

well it seems they found hilton last night.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/01/04/HiltonFound_0105_web.html?imw=Y


id like to share a related personal story if i may,

years ago we had a 3 time convicted murderer stay with us. unknown to us he was on the run again as he was wanted for questioning in another murder.


we know for a fact he spent a great deal of time on the A.T.(we live 20 miles from springer mountain) as in his own words it "is the perfect place to lay low".
the last time the FBI contacted us about him,they made the comment that there had been several reports of him and eric robert rudolph being spotted hiking the trail together..

lol,i highly doubt that but i do think for numerous reasons there is a natural attraction for fugitives as well as predators to hike the trail.

just a post note.

we recently saw a article in a magazine written by said triple murderer that stayed with us,so i would assume that at some point in the last 10 years the F.B.I. caught up with him and he exonerated himself of the murder in question.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/08/georgia.hiker/

it keeps thickening...

 

that's so sad.

 

Hmmm... I just noticed myself that the three name rule applies to all of the killers I listed above, including Gary Michael Hilton. Toss those in with John Wayne Gacy, Henry Lee Lucas and Robert Lee Yates. I'm glad my father was just Sephardic enough to not give me a middle name...

 

lol... or do they just use that for media purposes,,, i have always wondered that too even john wayne bobbitt .. do these people use all them in everyday life,,, how retarded,, but makes me cringe a bit too at the thought, ,,,

 

I figure they use all three names to narrow down the identity.

This one hits home, since I used to hike that section of the AT solo pretty often when I lived down there.

I figure criminals target the AT (and other similar major trails) because they're remote, well known, and hikers who are far from home are vulnerable, 'cause no one's expecting to hear from them for a while.

 

my first post!

And we were in the vicinity when all this was happening. Scary fucking shit. I used to hike alone, but this is the reason safety in numbers is important.

 

then ya was right near us then sida... yes it was a bit hair raisin being that i t was what i consider my back yard or my church as well as very disturbing,,,,

 

If you look at the ATC stats its really not that bad. People have been hiking the AT for 60 years and there have been what less than a dozen murders? Approx. 7,000 people have thru hiked the AT and numerous others do sections weekend and day hikes. A dozen or so murders in a 60 year time span isn't that bad. By and large the AT is pretty safe and hikers look out for each other.

Just trust your instincts. btw: most criminals are lazy note that most murders occur near trailheads and heavily used portions of the trail and most happened in the southern sections.